Summary

William, also known as Liam, is a versatile writer, musician, and jack-of-all-trades sharing his life story and passion for creativity on Illumination.

Abstract

William, who goes by Liam, introduces himself as a multifaceted individual with a rich background in writing and music. He has written for notable publications and agencies, and his creative work spans various mediums. Despite a challenging start in life, he has pursued numerous careers, from being a motor mechanic to owning a language academy. With two ex-wives, four children, and a life spread across two continents, Liam's experiences are as diverse as his talents. He is driven by a passion for everything he does and aims to be the best writer he can be, finding joy in the creative community at Illumination.

Opinions

Liam enjoys writing in various forms, including songs, poems, articles, and even to-do lists.
He is passionate about food, with a preference for a wide range of international cuisines.
Liam has a broad taste in music, plays multiple instruments, and has released albums.
He values the educational and soul-enriching aspects of having held approximately fifty different jobs.
Liam believes in aiming high and learning from failure, viewing it as a stepping stone to success.
He finds relevance in classical literature and believes that Shakespeare and

Hello and Welcome to My Introduction

I am sincerely pleased to meet you

So, how do I begin this introduction ? How about……

“Call me Liam. Some years ago- never mind how many precisely- having little or no money in my purse…….” nah, too Moby Dick.

How about……

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like…..” Nope, too much like ‘Catcher in the rye.’

Ok, how about some King Lear ?

“Meantime I shall express my darker purpose…..” Errrr….No. Too gloomy and doomy.

Or what about....

"Hi my name is Liam and I’m an alcoholic, drug addict, wife beater, pet molester"

Noooooo, none of it’s true, no matter what you hear.

Well, first thing is my name isn’t Liam…..well it kind of half is. My full name is William, or Liam for short. Why ?

My mum got sick of hearing her mother in law call me Little King Billy, the Irish King William of Orange.

So roughly half of what I tell you about me, whilst true, is not the full story.

Here is the part that’s all totally true, though still not the full story.

I love writing, always have and always will. I once wrote a great deal for the UK’s biggest regional newspaper, The Manchester Evening News, and a myriad of advertising agencies including McCann Erickson Manchester. My work has appeared in the press and on tv and radio.

I write songs, poems, articles, short stories, shopping and to do lists etc. I now even write a to do list about my to do list. How sad is that ?

I love great food. I am passionate about food in fact. Probably because I didn’t get quite enough of it as a child. I love all types of cuisine, English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Thailandes, Italian, French……if it’s good food I’ll eat it.

Music, love it. I will listen to anything almost. I play the guitar and piano. I perform in public and private. I write my own songs. I have got two albums out on Bandcamp; Nobodies Pet and Lost and Found. I have a third album, Live and Unsigned, which is out of print. In addition, I work with some very well established names in the industry.

Career ? Jeez I could write a book, well actually I did write a book, it just never got published. Let’s face it, who would want to read a book about ‘ The 1000 lousiest jobs I ever held down for more than a week ?’

I started as a motor mechanic in 1969 “……..and still those voices are calling from far far away…..” whoops slipped into The Eagles’ Hotel California there a moment……and I stuck at that for five years. However, an overworked, low paid, grease monkey wasn’t the apex of my ambitions. And so I decided to spread my wings a little.

I took myself off hitch hiking around Europe before returning to the UK to see if I could restart my life down a better path. In all I’ve had about fifty different jobs, which is good for the education and the soul if not the pocket.

Barman, record label owner, taxi driver, piano bar owner, truck driver, language academy owner. Actor (Film, tv, radio, theatre) factory worker….it would be shorter to list the jobs I haven’t done !

Ex wives, two. Degrees, one and a half. Languages, two and a half, Kids four that I know of. A resident of two different continents 15000 kilometres apart.

I’m passionate about being passionate about everything I do. I always give it my very best shot. That’s how I roll. I would rather aim high and miss than aim low and score.

And now, especially here at Illumination, I feel like I have arrived somewhere I wish I had arrived at years ago. I am a writer having the time of my life doing what I love doing the most. Now it’s on with the journey, at last on the right road and I couldn’t be happier.

The more you read my pieces the more you will come to know and understand me. Where I have come from, where I am at and where I am going. And maybe you will learn what drives me on to be the best writer that I can be.

It gives me great pleasure to be doing it here at Illumination. I feel amongst friends and a fantastic community of other thinkers and writers, artists and creators of some truly inspiring work. What is not to like about that ? All of my life I wanted to be a writer, but life got in the way. And now I am writer and life is playing my song.

I love literature. It speaks to me. I have spent a lot of time studying both classical and modern literature. I often flit between the two. I think Shakespeare and the Metaphysical poets still have a lot of relevance today.

And I think that if Shakespeare and John Donne were with us today they’d be doing quite a lot of rap.

Sometimes I mix classical and modern with my own UK Northern English vernacular. I like to experiment a bit, see what works and see what doesn’t. I think as a writer you have to take risks and not be afraid to fail. When you fail you learn. Failure is just another word for learning.

So on with the project of striving to be not only the best writer I can be, but also to be the best version of my true self that I can be.

I hope I haven’t bored you as sometimes these biographical things can. If you follow me and read my creative meanderings here at Illumination, thank you ever so much and I’m sorry if I have at any time caused you any unintended offence.